New research has uncovered a vast generational divide in shopping habits, with young people far more likely to make spontaneous purchases.
The Vypr report, titled Six Generations, One Shelf: How Australians Shop, found that 52 percent of people planned purchases before they shopped.
This trend increased with age, from 48 percent of 18-24 year-olds to 67 percent of over 65s.
The figures reflected younger shoppers often make impulse purchases, while older consumers were more habitual in their decision making.
More than four in 10 (43 percent) of 18-24 year-olds decide while browsing in-store or online, compared to just one in 10 (10 percent) of 55-65 year-olds.
In addition, nearly six in 10 (58 percent) of respondents are most likely to make an unfamiliar purchase if it’s discounted or on offer, peaking amont 18-24 year-olds (71 percent) and 55-64s (66 percent).
This is driven by social media which dominates 18 to 24 year-olds’ shopping habits – with more than half (52 percent) finding a new product via TikTok or Instagram.
For people over 65, only one in 15 (seven percent) aged 55-64 were influenced by social media. For older age brackets, recommendations from friends and family (25 percent for 45-54 and 23 percent for 65+) proved more effective.
Each generation holds vastly different views and preferences when it comes to how they are marketed to, and what they want from a product and the shopping experience.
Vypr International Chief Revenue Officer Sam Guilding said the research, conducted in January 2026, found, while some behaviours such as product quality, and asking a familiar face for a recommendation before making a purchase, unite Australians, others are split sharply by age.
“How shoppers discover products and make decisions is completely different depending on whether you’re 22 or 72,” Mr Guilding said.
“However, shoppers across every generation are still united by simple expectations – they want value they can see, quality they can trust, and reassurance from people they know.”
Word of mouth holds universal influence
All respondents in every age group said they asked someone they knew for a recommendation before making a purchase. This ranked above conducting a Google search – a practice that scored higher for 25-34s (69%), and 18-24s (67%) though dipped for 65+ shoppers (37%) in line with the established digital divide.
The regular shelf still matters
Despite the growing digital-first demographic, regular shelve locations remain the most likely place for a product to catch a shopper’s eye, with around four in 10 (43%) citing regular shelves ahead of special displays (41%) and end-of-aisle caps (28%). Special displays proved especially effective among 18-24s, with almost three in four (73%) recalling seeing a new product this way, where only one in five (20%) 55-64s said the same.
Loyalty is mainstream but not equal
A strong majority (58%) of Australian shoppers regularly use loyalty schemes. Across all age groups, loyalty participation is high, but frequency and intensity varies. Over seven in 10 (71%) 55-64s and nearly the same (67%) over 65s say they use a loyalty card or app almost every time they shop. In contrast, younger shoppers show more mixed behaviour with only less than half (48%) of 18-24s using loyalty cards every time, less than four in 10 (38%) using them only sometimes, and one in seven (14%) – the highest among all ages – not using them at all.
Price rises can break loyalty fast
Nearly eight in 10 (79%) 55-64s and roughly the same (76%) over 65s said a product getting too expensive was the main reason they might switch away from it, though younger generations were also sensitive to pricing changes, with nearly six in 10 18-24s (57%) and 25-34s (56%) also giving this as a reason.
Spending is reserved at both ends of the spectrum
Food and drink spend tends to peak during mid-life (35-54), likely reflecting household size, career progression and broader grocery responsibility. Most Australians report spending between $50 and $149 per week on food and drink, with about one in four spending between $100-$149 (27%) and $50-$99 (25%). 18-24s show lower spending (29% spend $50-$99, with 19% selecting under $50) while 35-44s and 45-54s spent the most on average, with 21% and 22% respectively spending upwards of $200 per week. Reversely, despite having the deepest pockets, the over 65s remain relatively frugal, with less than one in 10 (9%) spending over $200 and over one in four (28%) staying in the $50-99 range.
Brand disconnect is evident across generations
Despite being able to recall ads, most respondents struggled to name a specific brand they felt any kind of connection with. This sentiment was common across all age groups and saw consumers expressing scepticism or indifference towards branding altogether.
